The Stem Cell Science You Won’t Want to Miss at The NYSCF Conference

Annually for the past 15 years, the NYSCF Conference has showcased the latest cutting-edge findings in translational stem cell research, gathering world-renowned multi-disciplinary speakers and 500+ participants from academia, industry, government, nonprofits, and patient groups. This year’s meeting will be held virtually on October 19 & 20, featuring Derrick Rossi, PhD, founder of Moderna Therapeutics and NYSCF–Robertson Investigator Alumnus, as our keynote speaker, and a plenary discussion with Michelle McMurry-Heath, MD, PhD, and Tony Coles, MD among nearly 100 presenters in >12 hours of programming.

Read on for highlights of our exciting scientific sessions and panel discussions. The full program and registration information are available on our conference website. We hope to “see” you there!

Keynote & Plenary Scientific Sessions Panel Discussions

Keynote & Plenary Discussion

Keynote lecture

Dr. Rossi will share his insights into his journey pioneering mRNA technology and its future potential, and how stem cell scientists can efficiently advance new therapeutic strategies to patients.

Plenary Discussion: The Road Ahead for Translational Research

Panelists will draw on their extensive experience accelerating biomedical progress across academia, government, and industry to provide invaluable perspectives on key opportunities and challenges for translational research. Themes like how different stakeholders can more effectively translate discoveries into therapies, taking on health inequity, incorporating the patient voice into research, and ensuring access to biomedical breakthroughs for diverse communities will be explored.

“Everyone is on their game, there’s a leading set of scientists in each session. You’re able to really get a sense of how each of the different aspects of the stem cell field is pushing these technologies forward.”

– Paul Tesar, DPhil, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine

Scientific Sessions

Neurological Diseases

This session will focus on how stem cell-derived neurons and glia are delivering unique insights into how the brain malfunctions in neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders such as Parkinson’s and PTSD. We will also hear the latest developments in cell replacement therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

Diabetes & Immunology

Speakers will discuss our current understanding of the pathogenesis of diabetes, strategies for preventing the immune system’s recognition of beta cells, and the latest progress on universally transplantable, immune-evasive therapeutic cell products.

Advanced Organoid Models of Disease

Experts will share the latest advances in organoid technology to enable more accurate disease modeling. They will also share how different tissues can be integrated into multi-organ 3D structures to closely recapitulate human physiology in a dish.

Regeneration & Rejuvenation

This session will dive into the mechanisms underlying changes in stem cells as a result of aging, disease, or interaction with niches. It will also highlight innovations in genome editing tools for cell and gene therapy, and the future of the regulatory landscape for regenerative medicine.

Panel Discussions

Fostering Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in STEM

This panel will convene different stakeholders to engage in a critical discussion about how to advance the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the STEM research community. Actionable strategies to effectively remove barriers for systematically marginalized groups in STEM will be explored.

Next-Generation Cancer Therapies

Following short talks, panelists will discuss how recent developments in CAR-T and other immunotherapies, organoids, and advanced genetic analyses are creating new avenues for precision therapies in solid tumors.

“It brings together so many different people from different disciplines. It’s really important to understand how stem cell biology can impact our understanding of so many different diseases and disease processes.”

– Tracy Young-Pearse, PhD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Last but not least, we are proud that this year’s program will showcase several short talks (October 19, 2:10 PM ET) and an interactive poster session (October 19, 3:45–5:00 PM ET) featuring selected abstracts from scientists at diverse career stages at over 50 institutions worldwide.